


Take me from the dark

by SophieRomanoff97



Series: The Lives of Little Natasha and her Family [19]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: ABDL, Age Regression/De-Aging, Anorexia, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorder, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Awesome Bruce Banner, Awesome Bucky Barnes, Awesome Clint Barton, Awesome Natasha Romanov, Awesome Steve Rogers, Awesome Tony Stark, Bruce Banner Feels, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Clint Barton Feels, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Depression, Dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorders, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Little Sisters, Love, M/M, Multi, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Natasha Romanov-centric, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Avengers, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Red Room (Marvel), References to Depression, Some Fluff, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Suicidal Thoughts, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, The Avengers Are Good Bros, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, True Love, Unintentional Self Harm, in the past but thoughts are there, minor but there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-07-09 10:02:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19885786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieRomanoff97/pseuds/SophieRomanoff97
Summary: 'When Natty woke up, she knew right away that it was a dumb dumb head day.'Natasha wakes up knowing already that today is not a good day, but with Clint and the rest of her family right there beside her, at least she doesn't have to battle to dark alone.Includes consensual, non sexual age regression, not age play. If you don't like it, don't read it, no nastiness will be tolerated.





	1. Dumb freaking head days

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. I know it's been a long time. Not only has my health been really bad but I just lost inspiration for a little bit I suppose. No promises that I'll be uploading nearly every day like I was before this break but I do hope to be posting at least a little more frequently. I watched Far From Home and it finally gave me that want to write back. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> I suggest you please go back and read at least some of the other installments in this verse to properly understand the relationships and ages etc if this is your first time here.
> 
> Title comes from the NF song Can you hold me. The whole song is good and ya'll should listen.
> 
> Shorter chapters will be coming instead if bigger ones. It means that it's not as overwhelming and I can actually get content up. This whole single chapter took me about 3 weeks to complete so you can see how I'm struggling.
> 
> Kinda completely a self serving fic but if I can't write what helps sometimes what's the point.
> 
> TW's: depression, eating disorders, ptsd, unintentional self-harm, dissociation
> 
> Russian translations:  
> malyshka-baby  
> kotyonok-kitten

When Natty woke up, she knew right away that it was a dumb dumb head day.

Her thoughts were loud and her brain was crowded with different voices.

Big Natasha tried to release control to the girl, dropping was supposed to be therapeutic anyway, but she also wanted to protect Natty from the bad thoughts.

In the end, the need to drop won out and Natty took control of the reins.

She sat up slowly, rubbing at her eyes as she looked around the room.

As usual, Clint was beside her but whereas he was normally asleep when she got up, he was watching her with a smile as she righted herself.

"Morning, love." The archer said softly, gently rubbing his hand up and down her back.

Natasha didn't reply for a moment, blinking and exhaling shakily. The meanie thoughts were real loud already and she'd just gotten up. How was she supposed to go through a whole day like that?

"Malyshka? What's going on?" Clint murmured, sitting up, hand still on her back. He shuffled over to her side, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You know you can talk to me, love, yeah? Or are you having problems talking?"

Natasha sniffled and nodded, pressing her hands to her eyes, hard enough to see stars.

"Okay, okay baby." Clint murmured softly, sliding an arm round her shoulders, very gently tugging the girl to his chest. He rubbed up and down her arm as Natty tucked her head against his neck.

"I've got you, little spider, you're okay. Daddy's got you." He murmured against her hair. "I know everything is probably loud right now, that's okay. We know this happens."

Natasha whimpered softly, fingers curling around Clint's shirt, still not able to say anything as she sniffled and tried to fight back tears.

"I've got you, darling." Clint rocked her gently.

"So loud." The girl whispered, hiccuping softly. "Too loud."

"I know, little love, but daddy's got you. I love you so much." Clint murmured softly.

Trying very hard to stop herself from crying, Natasha pressed a fist to her mouth, shuddering with the effort of trying to hold it in.

"Malyshka, you remember us saying how bad for us holding these things in are, right? If you hold the icky in then the icky builds up and up until you can't hold it in anymore and you remember what can happen?" Clint asked ever so softly, making sure with his voice and actions that Natty knew she wasn't in any trouble and that he wasn't mad.

Natasha let out a shaky little breath, dropping her hand from her mouth, clutching at Clint's shirt instead. "Icky up..." she began.

"If icky builds up," Clint nodded, "what could happen?"

"Bad." Natty whispered. "Bad happen. 'U'set an...an' real mad an' real sad. No breathe," she whispered.

"That's right, my clever girl. You could have a panic attack or a flashback, you could get stuck in the past in your little head. You could get hurt, hmm?"

"Yeah," Natty sighed softly, closing his eyes, "hurt."

"So what do we have to try super duper hard to do?" The archer prompted.

"Not hold." Natty breathed. "Let out."

"Good girl, you are so right, you're so clever. Do you think you can try for daddy? Try to not hold the icky in?"

"Try." The girl promised. "Try real hard."

"That's all I ask of you, my warrior." Clint pressed soft kisses to the girl's head, rubbing a hand up and down her back as his little girl worked on processing and pulling down those barriers she'd put up to stop herself feeling the emotion.

Natty's sniffling soon turned into full on tears, her fingers clutching Clint's shirt, her face buried against his shoulder.

The archer rocked her gently, humming softly as he kissed her hair. "I've got you, my strong girl. Let it out." He whispered.

"Loud." the girl hiccuped, face wet with tears, even the collar of her shirt getting damp. "Nasty. Horrible. Meanie!" She exclaimed, hand sliding up to hit against the side of her head.

Clint was instantly ever so gently taking her hand in his. "Baby, we don't do that, okay? I know sometimes you don't know you're doing it but we have to try real hard to not hurt ourselves." He pressed a kiss to the red mark across her temple.

Natasha seemed more distressed now, her fingers clenching in his, indicating she badly wanted or felt compelled to hit herself again.

"Can you try to talk to me, kotyonok? Try to explain what's going on so you're not dealing with it all in your own head."

"Bad. Bad bad bad." The girl whimpered, "sad an' _hurt_ an' bad." Struggling to get out more information, Natty tugged at Clint's shirt.

"Okay, how about I talk and you say yes or no." He hummed. "Are you feeling extra sad today, baby?"

The girl sniffled and nodded.

"Extra scared? Worried?" He asked in a soft, soothing voice.

Another shaky nod.

"Are the mean thoughts very troubling this morning? Are they making you listen to them?"

Nod.

"Are they saying nasty things about you? Maybe telling you bad things you should do?"

Nod.

"Was one of those things hurting yourself?"

A pause and then both a nod and a shrug.

"Yes and no?"

"Didn't mean to b...but then they says more."

"You didn't mean to hurt yourself but after you did, the meanies said you should hurt yourself more?"

Natty pulled in another shaky breath and nodded, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Are they telling you anything else?" Clint murmured.

"No eat." Natty frowned, rhythmically clenching and un-clenching her fingers.

Clint closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing. _Shit._

"Okay. Okay, love. I am so so proud of you for being honest and answering my questions. You're not alone in any of this, I promise, I'm right here and I'm not going to let those icky voices decide what you do."

Natty sniffled for a moment before suddenly lifting her hand up and slapping the palm of it against her temple, twice before Clint managed to get a hold of the hand again.

"Shut up!" Natasha sobbed, her fingers clenched in Clint's.

"Baby," the archer breathed, "please don't hurt your little head. I know everything is so overwhelming right now but your daddy is going to try so hard to make them all quieter."

Clint tenderly kissed the girl's hair, holding her tightly to his chest. "Daddy is never going to let them hurt you. Do you trust me, malyshka?"

The little girl nodded shakily, tears still on her face. "Trust."

"Then daddy is going to make some breakfast and put one of his babies favorite shows on and we are going to have such a nice day, okay?"

"Okay." Natasha whispered, looking up at Clint like he held all the answers to all the questions.

Clint was determined to make their day as good as it could possibly be.


	2. Pj days and breakfast in bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Trigger warnings: eating disorder stuff, talk of triggers 
> 
> Russian translations:  
> Malyshka-baby   
> Milaya-sweetie

Clint sent a very quick message to Bucky to let him know what was going on and that they wouldn't be at breakfast but if they were making food, could one of them drop off a tray for them. It was something they all did for one another if someone was having a rough day.

They all knew what foods Natasha liked and what foods were best for when she was struggling to eat.

"Okay, baby girl, how about we get you into some jammies? Get you out of the icky adult clothes. We'll have a pyjama day, yeah?" Clint hummed, shifting so he could pick Natty up straight from the bed.

Natasha's big eyes looked up at him as she nodded, thumb having found it's way into her mouth.

Knowing baths were a no no with the girl struggling and potentially close to being triggered, Clint just carried her through to the changing room to get her into a diaper.

Natasha didn't make any fuss about it, which Clint took as a sign she knew she might need the diaper. He made sure to tell her how good she was doing and how proud of her he was for recognising what she needed.

Next, he carried Natty to their wardrobes and let her examine the rather large array of jammies. 

She loved onesies but sometimes they could be constricting and the opposite of what she needed so it was no surprise when the girl finally pointed towards her Hawkeye two piece pj set. This particular set had shorts bottoms instead of long, which indicated Natasha was definitely trying to avoid certain potential triggers.

Natasha was easy enough to get changed since that morning there were no wriggles or movements as the girl played and purposely made it difficult for him, instead she lay quiet and let Clint do this work in peace.

Once in her jammies, (a dark purple shirt with a lilac and white target in the middle, and some purple shorts with black arrows around the hem), Clint set the girl back in the bed as he got himself into clean pjs so Natty wouldn't feel uncomfortable being the only one not dressed in day clothes.

Clint chose the black tracksuit bottoms with the red spider trim down the side and the matching red shirt with the black collar.

Just as he was pulling the shirt over his head, there was a single knock at the door.

On the bed, Natasha instantly stiffened, eyes on the door. "Who that?" She asked, thumb forgotten about.

"It's just daddy Buck with some breakfast, baby." Clint reassured her.

Natasha whimpered, teeth biting into her lip. "Don't want leave." 

"You don't have to, I promise. I'm just gonna open the door, pick up the tray and come right back to bed, okay?"

Natty, looking sceptical, nodded slowly.

When Clint opened the door, Bucky was gone and the hallway was empty, bar the tray and a red gift bag. Picking both up, Clint shut the door behind him as he laid the items on the bed.

"Look at this, malyshka, there's a present here just for you!" Clint cooed as he handed her the gift bag.

Natasha frowned as she looked at the tag, looking up at Clint. "Why?" She whispered.

"Because you're a special little girl and you deserve gifts." Clint hummed, sliding into bed beside her. "Here, you want daddy to help you?"

Natty nodded immediately and Clint carefully pulled open the bag. Inside sat a teddy bear. It was a very soft, dark brown and felt a little heavier than a normal bear as Clint lifted it out of the bag.

Eyes wide, Natty made grabby hands at it, fingers running over the super silky fur. She rubbed her cheek against the bear's head, sighing softly.

As she held it to her chest to test just how good at hugging it was, a voice came from inside.

Natasha blinked and held the bear up in her hands, mouth open as the voice spoke.

_It was Tony! Tony was speaking from the bear!_

"Hi sissy," Tony's voice was soft and young, "you're so amazing and I love you and yeah you're amazing." The message ended there and with watery eyes, Natty tilted her head up to Clint in question.

Clint swallowed back the rise of emotion. God they had the best family ever.

"I think your brother has been waiting to give this to you, milaya." The archer said softly, fingers brushing through the girl's hair. "And I think he knew you needed some extra love today but he didn't want to invade your space."

"For me?" She whispered.

"All for you, little love." He murmured, watching with a soft smile as Natasha hugged the bear tightly to her chest and the message played again. This time a few tears spilled over her cheeks as she pressed her face to the soft fur. "Love." She whispered reverently.

Clint smiled as he continued to stroke through her hair. "I'm sure Tone is going to be so happy you like it, baby. How about you think of a name for your new stuffie and we feed him some breakfast? Did you hear that, I think his tummy just rumbled." Clint hummed seriously.

Natasha's eyes widened a little as she looked from the bear to Clint. "Hungry?" She whispered. "Gotta fix." She insisted.

"We do, we can't have anyone being hungry when there's so much yummy food here." Clint carefully slid the tray over to them, keeping on eye on Natasha's reaction.

Whilst she looked anxious as her eyes scanned the food and she looked more than a little uncertain, she did point to the blue plastic plate and say, "eat."

Usually one of the better ways to get Natasha to ear was to give her an empty plate and let her pick each bite from the tray of food. Clint would then match the food and put it on his own plate, even if he didn't really like the food, because if Natasha saw him eating exactly the same, she was more likely to finish. Clint would just grab snacks later.

After handing Natty the plate, Clint asked softly, "what do you think your stuffie would like first?"

Also a good idea, getting a stuffie or doll to 'choose' the food, so it was less like Natasha was asking for it and therefore, she felt less guilty about choosing.

It took a couple of minutes for the girl to speak, the stuffies mouth to her ear as if he whispered what he wanted to her. "Pancake." Natty said softly, holding up three fingers.

Clint scooped up three mini pancakes and placed them on the girls plate.

"Syrup?" 

Clint set out a little cup with maple syrup beside the pancakes.

Now the first food was out of the way, Natasha seemed to choose a little easier.

Over the next couple of minutes, Natasha's plate was carefully filled with strawberries, one French toast stick, a cup of scrambled eggs and a veggie sausage.

It wasn't really enough food for a grown woman who worked out a lot but the day was going to be chill and Clint was just happy there was any amount of food on that plate.

Getting Natasha to eat it though was a whole other thing.

She started off picking at the strawberries as they were one of her 'safe foods'. Clint took care to eat at the same pace as her as well as feeding her new stuffie. 

Once the strawberries were gone, the girl began to struggle a little, staring at her plate with a worried expression.

Clint popped the TV on, picking one of her favourite shows at the moment (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), hoping to distract her from her thoughts and give her mind a break so she could maybe eat some more.

It worked a little. Well, Natty was staring at the screen now instead of the plate and Clint quickly decided it was time to use another 'trick'. He took her plate from her and slowly began to feed her small mouthfuls of the food, first offering the fork to her stuffie and then Natty.

She still looked very uncertain but she accepted the fork nearly every time.

There were a few tears about the French toast stick but Natty dutifully ate nearly all of it, only the end of that and a few bites of scrambled eggs left at the end.

Clint was beyond glad she'd eaten and even if they had to give her a 'special milkshake' later, she'd eaten and that was important.

The archer made sure to praise the hell out of her, saying how amazing she did, how proud Clint was and didn't she feel a little better? To which Natty reluctantly agreed she did. Hungry tummies made for cranky babies.

After breakfast, Natasha snuggled up to Clint, snuggling her stuffie just as tight as her daddy was hugging her.

"Love." She whispered just before Clint slid a pacifier into her open mouth (Natty tended to grind her teeth when she was anxious and the sucking motion was soothing anyway).

"I love you, baby." Clint hummed, kissing her hair as Natasha turned her attention to her show.

They had this .


	3. A great brother and naptime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. The fairtytale I'm on about is this one: https://www.therussianstore.com/blog/the-firebird-and-princess-vassilissa/
> 
> No warnings for this chapter 
> 
> Russian translations:  
> Malyshka-baby

Clint and Natasha spent hours curled up under the covers, watching the girl's favourite shows and movies.

Natty spent the entire time curled into her daddy, his arms warm and safe around her, his chest behind her back a shield from everything bad.

Maybe they could go to sleep in the bed fort that night. Clint always said that nothing could hurt them in a fort. It was a special and sacred place.

Despite Natty thinking about bedtime already, Clint had had no luck trying to get her down for a nap.

He wasn't sure if she'd had nightmares the night before or if she was simply being stubborn. Their family didn't force naptime, the kids usually, even if they grumbled, knew when it was a good idea. But Natty was pretty small and she normally always had a nap when she was that small, otherwise she could get tired and overwhelmed and with everything else going on, that would likely not be a great idea.

When it reached about 3pm, Clint let the show on the screen finish playing before he paused the TV. 

Natty looked up at him in question.

"Daddy's hungry, baby, I need to go get a snack." He brushed his hand over her hair. "How are you feeling, love?"

Natasha shrugged and rubbed a balled up fist across her eyes. Yeah, she was definitely sleepy and fighting it.

"Hungry at all?" Clint asked casually.

Another silent shrug and more rubbing of her eyes.

"Do you want to go see the others?" He asked, coming to the idea that maybe she was refusing to sleep because if Tony was dropped too, they always napped together when they were home. And judging by the bear left outside their door, he was dropped.

Natasha shrugged again before pausing and nodding. 

"Yeah? Do you want to help me pack a bag for us to take with us? With all your favourite things." Clint hummed, holding out his arms so Natasha could put her arms around his neck and he could lift her off the bed.

"'Kay." The girl whispered, grumbling softly as Clint placed her down on the floor.

"It's just for a minute, baby." Clint chuckled as he dug out Natty's backpack from the wardrobe, texting Steve at the same time to let the others know they were coming down.

Once he had the bag, he let Natty totter around and collect what she wanted- which of course included BunBun, her new stuffie, her yellow duck blankie and her favourite story book. Once those were in the bag, Clint added in a couple of pacifers and one of the girl's rattle/fiddle toys.

He grabbed a pair of the softest, fluffiest socks he could find, adding them to the bag ready for their adventure outside their room.

"Okay, I think that's everything we need. Up we come, malyshka." Clint hummed, lifting Natty onto his hip, the girl tucking her face against his neck.

"My brave girl." The archer murmured as he swung the bag over his shoulder. "Remember we can come back at any time and no one is going to be upset with you for it. We gotta do what's best for you, okay?"

Natty hummed noncimmitally from his shoulder, fingers curling around the neck of his shirt as Clint pulled the door open.

When the pair got down to the main level, they stepped out of the elevator to find that everyone, not just Tony, was in pyjamas.

Tony was in a red and gold onesie, Bruce in purple sleep pants and one of Tony's science shirts. Bucky and Steve wore matching pyjamas with black sweatpant bottoms and red and blue shirts.

Natty blinked as she looked over her family. "Pj's." She whispered softly.

Tony beamed over at her. "It's a pj day for everyone!"

Clint knew that Natasha probably knew they'd all gotten changed so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable or lazy or anything her head might tell her. But she didn't seem to mind, in fact she seemed to feel good about it, smiling a little.

"Did you have your nap yet, Tone?" Clint asked as he headed over to the couch.

"Yeah," the boy said softly, glancing at Natasha, "but I can lay down with you, sissy. Just like always."

"Don't wanna bother." The girl murmured, though she couldn't completely hide how disappointed she was.

"No bother." Tony insisted, smiling wide, "wanna lay down with the best sissy ever who gives the best cuddles ever."

Natasha bit her lip before nodding slowly. "'Kay."

Knowing how sleepy Natty was, Clint knew it was better if he got her tucked up sooner rather than later so with a couple of smiles and hello's, Clint follow Tony into their napping room. After he'd grabbed a couple of granola bars, that was.

The bed for napping was different to their usual beds. It was a big circle mattress that covered at least half the floor and there was no bed frame, just the thick, squishy matress. It had railings that could come up from the floor around it on case they needed extra safety from the floor, usually if they were really young.

Clint knew railings were a big no no at that moment so he suggested to Natty as he headed over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room that they pull down the canopy from the ceiling. It was a soft, light mesh fabric that still let light in, so Natasha could see out of it and get out quickly if needed, but she had the comfort and protection of it too.

Natasha nodded tiredly, shifting in Clint's lap as he got settled in the chair.

"Tony, can you do me such a big favour?" Clint hummed.

Tony grinned and nodded, though he managed to stay quiet so as to not startle Natty. 

"I know it would make sissy feel real safe if you set out some stuffies and get BunBun and her blankie ready." Clint smiled, knowing just how much Tony loved to do things for his baby sister.

The boy immediately began to rush around to collect stuffies, lining them up around two thirds of the bed, like a soft army of protection, leaving space for if Natty needed to bolt, so she wouldn't trip.

Clint handed him BunBun and her blankie, watching with a soft smile as Tony tucked BunBun in the material and laid the stuffie down next to where Natty would be sleeping. 

The archer deftly slid a pacifier into Natasha's mouth, pulled on the fluffy socks and gave her her new stuffie to hold. She wouldn't sleep hugging it, in case the sudden voice woke her up, but she was happy to just rub her face and fingers against the fur as she settled into Clint and looked up at him, ready.

"Tone, you wanna come sit here too?" Clint asked softly.

The boy shook his head, flopping down, his cocoa pup build a bear squished in his arms. "Lay down and wait." He said quietly.

"You're such a good brother." Clint praised, "isn't he, Natty?"

The girl smiled and looked over at Tony, her eyes saying what she couldn't.

Clint opened the storybook. It really wasn't the happiest of stories at all, but this one wasn't as bad as some of the others Natty had. It was her favourite. 

_The Firebird and Princess Vassilissa_

It was an old Russian Fairy tale and one of the only things Natasha remembered from her life pre-Red Room. She'd shared the story with Clint a week after she'd come to America and thus the nickname Firebird had been born.

Because she was a Firebird, rising from the ashes to soar free and clear across the world.

It also had an archer character in it so it was meant to be, really.

"Okay, you two." Clint murmured softly, still loud enough for Tony to hear. He gently pushed the chair back and forth to soothe Natty even more. She loved the rocking motion.

"In a certain kingdom, in a thrice-ten realm that lay far away, beyond the thrice-nine lands, there once lived a mighty king. The king had an archer who was as brave as he was strong, and the archer had a horse that was as strong as it was fleet of foot. One day the archer got on his horse and rode off to the forest to hunt.

He rode along a road, and a wide road it was, and he saw a fire-bird’s feather lying there and flaming like fire."

Natasha's eyes had already closed as she drifted but Clint continued until the whole story was finished and Natty was definitely asleep.

"He married Princess Vassilissa and they lived together for many long years and were as happy as happy can be.

The end."

Clint carefully set the book aside. It was a vintage book he'd found online for Natasha's first year at Shield anniversary. Cost him a _lot_ of money but it was one of her most prized possessions and she'd been so happy to open it.

With a smile, he scooped Natty up gently, carrying her to the bed where Tony was waiting with sleepy eyes. It seemed the boy hadn't been able to resist the pull of the story and another nap.

When Natty was laying down, Tony carefully scooted over. They were face to face so the boy took one of the girl's hands in his as Clint took the talking stuffie from her arms and slid BunBun and her blankie in there instead. He set the new stuffie in the ring of protection and dropped a kiss to both kid's heads.

"I'll just be right in the chair if you need anything." He whispered to Tony, who was taking his job of looking after his sister very carefully, cradling her hand super softly.

"Sleep well, my loves." The archer cooed as he stood and pulled the canopy down from it's hook in the ceiling, smiling as it floated around the kids and settled, the perfect shroud against anything bad.

After turning the lights down, Clint set back in the rocking chair, pulling out his phone to play a few games.

He could feel the tug of an incoming drop in the back of his head but was determined to see the nap through. He did feel a little guilty. Natasha needed him. 

He soon brushed those thoughts away. He could be there for Natasha whatever age and he couldn't help that he was going to drop. Natty would just love his company and Clinty was the best at cheering his sissy up.

For now though, he was content to play his games, eat his snacks and watch Natasha and Tony sleeping peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I'm feeling extra crummy and would love some comments or for you guys to go check out my other fics. Not too sure when the next chapter will be up but thanks for sticking with me💛


	4. Snack time and the best family ever!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I think we're at the end of this installment, I hope you liked it.
> 
> TW: more eating disorder-y stuff
> 
> A part of this fic came verbatim from an RP with my best friend, so thanks for helping me write this chapter sis!
> 
> Russian translations:  
> malyshka - baby

Natty was confused when she first woke up, rubbing at her eyes and tiredly lifting her head up.

Tony was beside her, curled small with his cheek resting against one of her hands.

Careful not to wake him, she pulled the hand from under him as she looked around. After a moment, she realised where they were, instantly relaxing.

_Safe_

Peering through the mesh of the canopy, Natasha could just make out a figure in the chair in the corner of the room.

Unsure of how long she'd slept, she cautiously poked her head out from the canopy.

Clint, upon hearing the soft rustle, looked up from his phone with a smile. "Hiya, love. Nap all done?"

"Tone's sleepin' still." She whispered softly as she crawled off the mattress and onto the soft carpeted floor.

"Yeah, Bruce told me that Tony had a really late night in the workshop." The archer hummed as he got up. "Though, it probably is time to wake him if he's gonna get any sleep tonight."

Heading over, Clint slowly gathered the canopy from around the bed and hooked it back up to the ceiling.

With a small smile, Natty crawled over to the boy's head, carefully tapping at his forehead. "Wakey wakey eggs and bakey." She lisped softly.

Tony grumbled as he was woken, peering blearily up at his sister. "Time 'ready?"

"Time already, bud." Clint murmured, crouching down. "It's snack time."

Tony was instantly more alert at the mention of snacks, clambering up and off the bed.

Natty however, did not seem to be enthused about what time it was.

Clint could feel himself sailing towards his drop so he carefully picked Natty up in his arms and took Tony's hand, leading them out to the living room.

They were greeted by three happy faces, Tony letting go of Clint's hand to rush over to Bruce. "Snacks!"

Steve chuckled softly, "ah, is it time to feed hungry tummies?" He stood to head towards the kitchen.

Clint carefully set Natasha down into Bucky's waiting arms. He shuffled his feet and rubbed a hand at his eyes.

Natty watched him curiously for a moment before tilting her head. "'S okay." She said softly, green eyes looking up at the archer.

Clint let out a soft sigh, continuing to shuffle on the spot. "But..."

"But nothin'." Natasha said firmly, somehow managing to look vaguely menacing, even in her pjs with her pacifer hanging at her neck and her hair all sleep ruffled.

"But-" Clint tried again.

This time Natasha lifted a finger up, pressing it to Clint's lips. "But. Nothin'." She couldn't completely say what she wanted to to reassure him but her intentions were clear. It was fine if he was dropping. It was fine if he was her brother now.

The girl kept her finger there for a few seconds, one eyebrow raised, as if daring him to say 'but' one more time.

Bucky had kept quiet this time, sensing that what was happening was a conversation for just the inseparable pair. Once it looked clear that Clint was indeed dropping, Bucky shifted Natasha to one knee and opened up his arm on the other side. "Come here, love."

Clint, with one last stubborn little stamp of his foot, huffed all the way to Bucky, grumbling under his breath as he got himself settled on the man's lap.

Natasha blinked slowly, her head resting against the join of Bucky's metal arm. "Angry?" She whispered, forehead furrowed.

Clint sighed softly, rubbing his eyes. "Not angry. Jus'...wanted to look after you an' now I can't."

Natasha frowned deeper, taking one of Clint's hands. "Can." She said softly. "Always do." Her voice was soft but insistent.

The boy sniffled and exhaled, hopeful eyes looking up from his hands. "Really? But I can't be your daddy 'nymore."

"You're big brother." Natty said simply, "an' always help."

Clint thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Okay."

Looking proud, Bucky brushed a hand over both kid's heads. "How about a snack, my loves?"

Clint grinned and nodded excitedly, hopping off Bucky's lap and taking Natasha's hand to help her down.

Natty didn't let go of the hand as the three headed to join the others in the kitchen.

When they got there, Bruce was chopping up apples and Tony was attempting to shake out Trix cereal into a bowl and getting it everywhere. Steve was collecting items from the fridge.

"What do you guys want?" Bucky asked softly, ruffling Clint's hair.

"Chips?" Clint grinned, "and fruit snacks?"

"Of course, love. Natty?" Bucky smiled reassuringly but the girl didn't answer, biting her lip and staring down at the floor.

Clint blinked and shuffled to put his arm around the girl, looking up at Bucky as if to tell him he had it sorted.

Bucky, trusting him, nodded and headed over to the cupboards to make his snack.

Clint carefully shuffled Natty over to the corner of the room. "Little spider." He said softly, taking both her hands. "Look at me?"

"Icky." She mumbled, heaving a big sigh. "Dumb dumb head."

“Not dumb,” Clint said firmly. “Smartest, prettiest, nicest.”

"Bein' a meanie.'' She whispered, looking up at him, tapping at her temple. "Don't wan' to be bein' a meanie."

“Listen,” Clint whispered, cupping his hand around her ear to whisper into it. “Be nice to Natty, Brain. You’re not allowed to be mean no more.”

Natty nodded, gazing at Clint. "An' my brother can make you pay." She said firmly, she set. "So gotta listen."

Clint grinned and nodded, fingers trailing over her hair. "Exactly. Brain doesn't wanna mess with me."

"You're so clever." Natty whispered adoringly.

A light flush broke out across the boy's cheeks and he tutted and rubbed the back of his neck. Pride settled in his chest. He was able to help even if he was brother not daddy.

"How 'bouts we get daddy to make you a special milkshake?" Clint suggested.

The special milkshake was essentially just an Ensure Plus drink mixed with a little protein powder and more flavouring and then mixed in the blender with some ice. They'd perfected the way Natasha actually enjoyed drinking it.

The girl sighed, looking forlorn but after a minute she nodded. "'Kay."

"Okay? What kind you want? Strawberry, choccie, 'nilla?"

Shuffling from one foot the other, Natasha pulled in a shaky breath and closed her eyes as she spoke. "Strawberry with fruit, please."

Clint beamed, "we got frozen strawberries in, you want some of those?"

Natasha bit her lip but nodded. "Yeah."

Clint wrapped his arms around Natasha, nuzzling her hair. "Super duper proud of you, sissy." He murmured.

Natty smiled weakly against his shoulder.

"C'mon, we'll get daddy to help." Clint gently tugged the girl over to Bucky, asking quietly for what Natty wanted.

Bucky smiled softly, his eyes just a little shiny. "Absolutely, malyshka's. The best milkshake ever coming up."

Once all the snacks had been prepared, everyone moved back into the living room, spreading out under blankets.

Natty tucked herself in between Clint and Tony, the younger boy having insisted on sitting next to his sissy.

It became apparent why he'd wanted to sit there when, after they'd all chosen and pressed play on a film, Tony tried to share his Trix and Vanilla wafers with the girl.

Every ten minutes or so, Tony would press a fruit shape or a part of a wafer against her lips and she would obediently open her mouth and eat the piece he'd offered.

In everyone's opinion, it was the cutest freaking thing they'd ever seen.

Natty sipped her milkshake throughout the duration of the film, delighted when she came across a piece of mushy strawberry she could chew on.

Curled in between two of her brothers, the rest of her family surrounding her, a nice film playing, Natasha thought that even though dumb dumb head days happened and nothing could really _fix_ them, sometimes they could be made easier and a little brighter.

By the best family ever!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment if you liked it, they make me a happy bby!


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